PHOTO CREDIT: Evan Casey
Spin Scooters
Spin scooters in the Third Ward.
Lime is not alone anymore. Bird and Spin, two electric scooter operators, have been approved by the City’s electric scooter pilot program to hit the streets of Milwaukee Tuesday.
Spin and Bird were approved to place 350 scooters on the streets, while Lime had their scooter allotment scaled back from 500 to 350. The companies were approved to place 250 scooters in an area that includes much of the Third Ward, Eastside, Bay View, Walker’s Point and Downtown neighborhoods. 100 more were approved for the two other zones. This comes after the City put a pause on any additional scooter companies coming to Milwaukee because of sidewalk usage and parking concerns.
Spin said they would be deploying around 240 scooters Tuesday and scaling up to 350 by next week.
“The pilot will continue, and I stress the word pilot because we still want to make sure that this is done in a way that respects the rights of pedestrians,” said Mayor Tom Barrett about the continual of the program.
The Department of Public Works (DPW) conducted an eight-hour count of scooters in the Third Ward, eastside and downtown — finding that 83% of users were following the rules and riding the scooters in the streets and not on the sidewalk. The DPW said they will continue to collect data on sidewalk riding. The DPW also said they have been in close communication with scooter companies regarding using “safety events, in app notifications, ambassadors and patrols,” to curb sidewalk riding.
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PHOTO CREDIT: Cole Vandermause
Lime Scooters 2
After the program was paused Lime started placing pop-up notifications in the app, warning riders about sidewalk usage. In early August, the mayor said the city had received more than 100 complaints about sidewalk usage since approving the dockless scooter pilot program in July. However, the DPW said they have seen “a decrease in complaints and witnessed public support for continuing the pilot,” since the program was paused.
“Each operator’s allowed fleet plan has been scaled back to ensure the number of scooters in circulation are manageable and being used properly,” Commissioner of Public Works Jeff Polenske said in a press release. “We will frequently assess the fleet size and determine if adjustments need to be made.”
Mayor Barrett said sidewalk usage has been “by far the biggest issue." The fine for riding on the sidewalk ranges from $20 to $40 for the first offense and $50 to $100 for the second offense. A spokesperson for the MPD said they have still issued no citations for sidewalk riding yet.
According to Lime, more than 53,000 trips have been made on scooters in Milwaukee since the program was approved in July.
Update: Wednesday, 9:30 a.m.
Bird scooters are also present in the Third Ward and Downtown.
Read more of our continuing coverage of electric scooters in Milwaukee here.
